Thanks for sharing this HappyLife – a depressing theory, but potentially very important for many of us on here…

I really recommend everyone gives it a read!

Tried to reply earlier with the links but it kept failing. If you google ‘nih biggest loser metabolism’ the top two hits are a great NY Times article that goes through the results and has comments from some of the contestants, and then the actual scientific research paper.

Hi Eureka

Sounds a great trip. Visited Bannf and Jasper a few years ago – loved Bannf (met a Mountie in his ceremonial uniform😃). Was on trip from USA and my passport was stamped on entering Canada but not when I left. Technically I’m still in Canada LOL

Hi Christi1948

Hope the market goes well. Mine is at the end of June – really need to get sewing something!

Hi HappyLife
No, much to my husband’s sorrow ☹️ It’s escorted so we see lots. I think more than we would have by train. Montreal, Quebec, Ottawa, Toronto (Niagara Falls. I want to get wet!). 🛬 Calgary ( no stampede 😟) 🏔 Bannf, Jasper, Sun Peaks & Vancouver 😀 Phew! That’s why I’m upping the exercise 👣 👣
Need another 1/2 stone off by then, 6 weeks , & it’s slow for me. Great incentive though. Can’t wait. 🇨🇦

aw thanks again you guys 🙂 I’m following in the trail of others I’m still new at this! I’m just surprised how naturally it seems to come given that I (used to) love my potatoes, bread and pasta but I’m really not missing them.

The salt and vinegar chick peas turned out nicely 🙂 and not difficult at all, totally recommend looking them up!

I’ve grown quickly attached to spirallized courgette with my bolognaise 🙂 and I agree there are lots of recipes here, as well as looking for other low carb recipes online. Ask him what he would like to eat and then look at ways to adapt it, that’s mostly what I do for myself. If you can’t think of a suitable adaptation post here asking if anyone else can. Not sure what to suggest about the snacking but if your husband can’t commit to this fully perhaps he could do the 5:2 day approach where he would only be on 800 two days a week and this may be more manageable for him.

Hi Sue1234
That’s a great price for your shakes! What make are they and where do you get them I wonder? Do you know the carb and calories content? Do they come in different flavours?Always looking to save money wherever possible and would love to find out more about these..they sound brilliant !

Thank you. I just googled ‘card withdrawal symptoms’ and the first thing I saw was an article on “carb-flu”! Hopefully in a day or two things will improve.

Hi Christi1948
You’ve been busy! Hope the market goes well. Has your daughter made any cakes for it? I used to bake for my mum’s church do’s. My old Battersea school cook book circa 1962 was trolled through for raspberry buns recipe. Her favourite but not T 2 friendly!!
Yes ‘big Lucia hugs’ for ALL going through exams. Just do your best with NO extra stress applied. 🍀 🎓

This thread is sooo inspiring. I bought the book on bank holiday Monday and started today. Love your food diaries- so helpful. Keep going Izzy we’re all following in your trail.

As for your second question, stick to meat, fish & veg. If you take a look at some of the recipes, I’m sure you’ll find something he likes. I had scrambled egg and bacon today, I’m sure that would appeal to him. veg is very low cal so you can have a plate of them with chicken on them. Does he like bolognaise, meat balls etc. Make him some, you’ll find that putting bolognaise with green beans is just as satisfying. is he a curry man? do him a curry with cauliflower rice. There are loads of ideas knocking about on these forums. I was reading the forums the day before I started and I wrote a list of 48 things that I like and none of them were in the book, they were all on here.

I’m diabetic. The nuts are a great little snack but the other things are more of a meal, from what I can tell they need to come out of his calorie count (so do the nuts 52 cals for 6 cashew nuts) I don’t think it would hurt to go over by some but not more than 25 cals I would have thought. Has he spoke to his doctor? How medicated is he? He really needs to be monitored, he may find that once his fasting blood sugar is a reasonable number that he could talk to his doctor about reducing his pills. There are other diabetics on here that are doing this and the book is written for type 2 diabetics, so if your husband buys in to the diet fully he may find he doesn’t need to go over and that he’s just worried. Which of course you would be worried but he should stick to his 800 cals, if he wants to reverse it, he has to be sold on it. that’s my thinking. I hope it helps. But others may shed a better light on it. Good luck and I really hope you and your hubby find wellness.

Hi Eureka!! I look forward to your travel updates as I want to do the coast to coast of Canada as well. Are you taking the train?

Hi Julia18togo
Good to have food pre made. Can you factor in a couple of walnuts or Brazil’s etc to eat instead of the sweets if you get a severe attack of the munchies before dinner is ready? Best not to eat between meals as you know, but eat good stuff if you must 😀. Plus, fat content in nuts more filling.
Make sure everyone sleeps well while exams are on & has breakfast, & is hydrated. You think better!

Day 5
No weight loss today – still down 7 lbs
Woke up with a cold – drinking lots of water and taking naturopath cold meds.
Gotta nip this in the bud quickly since I have daily clients for two weeks and then a busy trip.
I can do it!! 💜😍
Day 5
B – 2 eggs, 1oz cheddar, herbs
L – 3pz salmon, 1 cup asparagus
D – 1/2 can Amy’s lentil vegie soup with 1 cup asparagus added

Just looked at Shake That Weight – £1.25 a “meal”, the shakes I buy are £2.99 for 10 sachets. So just under 30p each.
Not the variety, but I’m very frugal with money. If anyone knows any cheaper than that (including postage) you can let me know.

Day 5
B – 2 eggs, 1oz cheddar, herbs
L – 3pz salmon, 1 cup asparagus
D – 1/2 can Amy’s lentil vegie soup with 1 cup asparagus added

717 cal 56 carb

We just started the BSD on Sunday, could someone please give some advice with the following issues?

A) my husband who’s a diabetic seems to think he needs 2 snacks during the day in case he has a dizzy spell, I’ve been giving him a small amount of nuts and a boiled egg, or 2 lettuce leaves filled with some turkey or ham and red pepper slices – of course this is taking the calorie allowance over the 800. This will obviously make weight loss slower, will the diet still work to reverse his diabetes?

B) There’s not a huge amount of recipes in the book that appeal to my husband, and he does not like chick peas, avocado or beans of any sort apart from baked beans. Quick lunches to take to work, and evening meals are a bit of an issue; can anyone recommend or point me in the direction of suitable recipes to use in this diet please?

Any advice would be much appreciated – many thanks

Thanks. This is my 2nd day and I’m doing better than I did yesterday. My disaster was written in another thread. it’s in the thread started today OMG!

AlanHypno how is it going for you? Are readings looking better? Hope the weight continues to drop off you.
All the best!
Julia

Yesterday Day 72 Weight 10st 2lb (I’m nothing if not predictable – the other pound will come back off when its ready!)
Blood Sugar 9.2

Today Day 73 Weight 10st 2lbs
Blood Sugar 9.1.

Have felt very well today. I think I feel better when the sun is shining. I made some bolognaise and ratattoulli to freeze, it really works my muscles chopping all the vegetables – the butternut squash is a real fat burner :D. I had a portion of the bolognase in Two Peppers – I love chilli in them as well (not at the same time). 🙂

Hope everyone is keeping going – I’m getting my bloods done on Wednesday next week – the first time since I started the diet – but I am going away for a while from the Friday onwards so I wont get my results until either the end of May or when I check in with my Diabetic Clinic early June- will keep you posted up until I go away 13th May and on my return 25th May – I’m just hoping I don’t put on too much weight, although I will be taking my shakes with me for lunch.

I’m going to Spain – I’m ready for some hot sunshine.

More power to your elbow Bill! Glad the readings are better. How’s your son-in-law doing with the diet?

I agree about getting straight back up when falling down. That’s what’s helped me stick with this diet where in the past I failed. The rapid results make it worth sticking with (others I just found too demoralising as weight loss was slow). The support from you and others on these forums tells me that it’s worth persevering when I feel too low to tell myself. Thank you Izzy and all those who post here. You really are a big support.

Looks like just a blip.
My reading pre food tonight was 4.2
Happy days 😀

Hi julia18togo,
I’m glad there is someone else who is up against it! I have no children doing exams, just adult daughters living or coming with their three girls every Tuesday for tea. This last couple of weeks I have been getting things ready for a spring market at our church, making stuff, organising the hall, setting up and rotas for help, dashing about, working on projects late at night and just dipping into bsd forum when I can,
My grandson Fergus has his first exam on Thursday and our daughter is like you a bit stressed, especially as her eldest has his exams starting next week too. So I wish you well with you and her exams, and like Lucia said give her a big hug from us, and ‘speak’ soon
Christine x

Thanks for posting this HappyLife, I hadn’t seen it.

It’s pretty depressing reading, but I highly recommend everyone checks it out:

Original scientific article….

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21538/full

Nice NY Times piece that breaks down the results, and has comments from contestants….

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html

Thanks Eureka and Lucia for the good wishes. In fact if you are thinking of running away from work Lucia I might join you. Although for me work is easier than doing the mum stuff… I would like to run away from home and come back in a few weeks time.
Eureka – diet is good and bad. Bad in that I have eaten stuff I shouldn’t have today. And good in that I have batch cooked a week to 10 days worth of BSD meals in freezer and fridge since I know that coming home from work is when I am at my lowest ebb – today’s misdemeanour was my daughter’s sweets rather than the meals! The cardinal sin on this diet😕. Although not diabetic this won’t help my weight loss this week.

I hadn’t seen this so thanks for sharing HappyLife 🙂

It’s pretty devastating reading to be honest, but I recommend everyone checks it out:

Original scientific article…

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.21538/full

Nice NY Times article that breaks it down, and has comments from contestants…

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html?_r=0

I’m not stronger, I just haven’t really had anything too stressful over the past two weeks don’t let a few little slips get you down! I haven’t slipped up here yet but I’ve fallen off various wagons many a time on past eating plans, the secret is to jump straight back on 🙂

That’s a shame about your spiralizer, hope you have better luck with tomorrows delivery.

I’m short on steps today but due to my blister on my foot I have hobbled all day, I might take the night off and chill as my daily average is above 10000 still anyway. I need to get good insoles for my walking boots to avoid more blisters lol.

Breakfast today was yoghurt and strawberries
lunch was cheese salad and a tablespoon of cranston pickle (I’d love to find a low carb cracker…my next mission)
dinner omelette

Also currently cooking salt and vinegar chickpeas, which is supposed to make a nice savoury snack for those of us who miss crisps. I’ll report back how they turn out later, just google ‘salt and vinegar chickpeas’ if you want them as my links don’t seem to appear when I post them 🙁

Ok Yesterday: fbs ; 7.7
Breakfast: Greek yogurt & Blueberries (2 bites of nasty pancakes and half a tub of 100g yogurt, so not enough food)
Lunch: Tuna Salad
Tea; Mexican Chicken
snack; had to, I was ravenous and wanted to bbq the dog! hartleys sugar free jelly & a pear.

2nd day today;
FBS; 6.6
breakfast; 3 egg omelette with 2 rashers of smoked bacon all fat cut off.
lunch; off the seat of my pants, was a celery & cauliflower soup.
Tea will be; not having it until 9pm to try and help my hunger pangs (I’m a dirty stop up) Salmon & Green Beans
Also had a snack of 6 cashew nuts.

I have to say I woke up this morning with a banging head even though I had 4 pints of water yesterday, I am also putting my hunger down to 1) not being used to so little calories. 2) my disastrous breakfast which meant I didn’t have a full meal.
Today is a whole different story, although I am slightly hungry after having my lunch at 4pm, (it’s now 7pm) I think that my sturdy breakfast has set me up for the day, when I have my tea later, I reckon come bedtime midnight – 1am ish I will be fine. I also don’t think I will need 3 eggs for my omelette next time 2 will suffice, I was just so hungry this morning I was a bit greedy.

Hope everyone else is still doing well. tips are always welcome.

This is my first fasting day on the diet and I did well till lunch time .
I started looking for very low carb to no carb snack recipes.
I don’t know if my will power is strong enough to do the two day fast but I feel determined! Even though I did fix a recipe of low carb almond flour flaxseed Parmesan crackers and ate a handful that’s it I stopped and re focused .
I MUST DO THIS I HAVE TO . . I’m drinking water and fresh raspberry leaf tea . I need more Strength!!!

Roger Wouldn’t think you needed blood pressure pills with that epreading
Isn’t 120/80 considered normal ,your is much lower than this
Alan
Well done too.

Hi Lindy Lou,
as both Neohdiver and Bill say, the carbs you require are part of your biochemistry. I have lost weight consistently over 10 weeks (15.5g) and my average carb intake was 60g per day, calories 800 +/_ 75. In the last 2 weeks I started testing for fat burning – and I was burning fat at that level of carb intake. Exercise taken that day also impacted the fat burning and pushed it up a notch (I used keto-stix as an indicator). Others (David6855) was managing to reduce his BS on 70g carb a day.
Start with something you are comfortable with – I get leg craps overnight if I drop below 55g, so I have stuck to 60g. Neohdiver’s approach of a consistent amount per meal is a good idea. If you do not get the results you expected over a couple of weeks, you can cut the carbs down a bit.
It is important to monitor you carb intake. I aim for 800 cals, but it my carbs are over 60g and I am at 700 cals, then I stop there for that day. If my carbs are too low, then I will go above 800 to get the carbs up and avoid leg cramps. Bill does not look at calories, but monitors carbs and sensible portion sizes. You will find out our own bodies idiosyncrasies over time!
good luck and enjoy the journey.

Glad it is going well for you Izzy. I was back to being really well behaved food wise but then ate stuff of my daughter’s which I shouldn’t have (having successfully avoided an ice cream when I bought her one – this would have been a less bad choice than her sweets which I succumbed to!). Although not diabetic this won’t help my weight loss this week. I have at least got sensible meals in the freezer and fridge so am slightly derailed rather than completely off the track. Helping to keep her on an emotionally even keel is enough to lower my resistance to the wrong stuff at the low moment. You folks are made of stronger stuff than I am. I really want to lose the rest of my weight though so am persevering. Once the maths exam is over on 12th May things should be much improved!

My cusique spiralizer arrived today but has gone straight back as although supposedly new it had courgette stains on instructions sheet and the pieces were out of their plastic bags which were also broken. New one coming tomorrow…

Thanks both – couple of handy tips there.

Bill1954 – a follow up question – does it matter how the calories are split over the day? I tend to take the majority of mine (about 3/4) at my evening meal

Hi has anyone worked out the net carbs in recipes? It would be great to know (and maybe good idea for next edition of 8 week blood sugar diet book?) Would be v. happy to read any calculations per serving from anyone out there then I can scribble on my book! Thanks Tofa

Hi Julie 18 to go,

Make sure you give her a big hug from all of us here.

Good luck!

Love Lucia
Cxxxx

Thanks for the support ladies you are helping me to keep going too 🙂

Michael

Just want to pass on some good news as your book and diet have proved successful in my case in reverting from diabetic to “normal” – more on this expression below.
Having been pre-diabetic for around 2 years prior to September 2015, I had my annual health check and was told I had just slipped into the diabetic category at 6.5 on the HbA1c test. I was duly dispatched to the area NHS diabetic dietary advice centre where I was given the standard advice that includes continuing with carbs (as noted consistently in the forum posts). In January I was tested again and was found to have an increased reading of 6.7 (so much for the NHS advice). I met the doctor (having previously been seen by the diabetes nurse) who told me I needed to go onto medication. I explained that I wanted to try again with dietary measures and although she was not happy, agreed to give me another 3 months.
I subsequently followed your book and started on the 800 calorie diet but found it difficult to stick to the calorie limit after a few weeks. Having decided that if I was able to make the transition, I would need to find a diet that I would be able to accommodate and enjoy and so adopted the Mediterranean diet. I used many of the recipes suggested in the book and found that I could work with this and other similar recipes whilst monitoring my blood glucose levels to find out the things that might cause higher readings. After a week in the US recently, I wondered if I would be able to do this. I shouldn’t have worried – sticking to the principles kept my BS levels steady.
Last week I had a re-test and rang the surgery today for the result. The receptionist told me “the doctor has recorded – reading normal, no need for further action” and told me she couldn’t give me the result as she wasn’t medically trained.
So the worry of the last 8 months has gone. Your approach is vindicated as far as I’m concerned. My fasting blood sugar averages over the last 3 months (over 40 readings) have been –
February (6.3)
March (6.1)
April (5.7).
This would indicate that the picture is still improving.
I consider myself a Thin on the Outside and Fat on the Inside and quickly lost around 2.25 stone from 13st 8lbs to 11st 4lbs (at 6ft 2″ this puts me borderline BMI normal/low) . My waist has decreased from 38″ down to 34″ . My blood pressure has dropped to 105/65 and reduced blood pressure medication (Lisinopril) to occasional.

With gratitude
Roger

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement, a lot of good sense. amazing too to hear so many having had similar problems recently. Good luck to everyone getting back on the horse. My carb overdose has left me feeling bloated and exhausted, I could have slept all afternoon. Raging hunger too. Am back bsd-ing today and looking forward to having that lovely slim feeling in a few days. 4lbs gain over the four days though (this is half my total loss so far, so easy on, so hard off), gonna take some shifting, hopefully it hasn’t got too tight a hold and will come off again over the next couple of weeks. Thanks again for the support folks, really couldn’t do this without you all!

Hi Julia18togo
Hope all is well BSD wise? Good luck to your daughter re exams. Talk later

Thanks I will check them out 😄

Hi Bill1954
It’s strange! Wonder if your Dawn Phenomenon has shifted?
I fast from 6pm – 8am ‘ish 15 – 16 hrs daily. 2 weeks off my meds but fluctuating FBS? I eat breakfast then only one more meal a day. Sometimes only one meal if stuff gets in the way! ( not good)
I noticed my FBS is higher before breakfast but lower if I test before midday if I move my first meal time for that day!
My reflux has gone so don’t want to eat cheese or yoghurt late before bed to jeopardise that.
It’s a suck it & see situation for me & obviously got to keep on top of monitoring my bloods. I’m nowhere near my personal fat threshold yet I feel.
You have done so well on all counts. Let’s hope it’s an aberration that you can quickly sort out

Glad to hear it. I had a blood sugar shock over the weekend but it’s went back to normal now.
There is so much we don’t know about the human body and mind that it isn’t surprising that sometimes things come out of left field that defy everything you think you know.
One thing I’ve discovered over the last 3 months is the only predictable thing about my body is it’s unpredictability

Wow Izzy!! 8 lbs is amazing!! Good for you and to lose another inch? Wonderful!! I hope to follow in the inches lost as well!
Great job and thanks for all your inspiring posts!!

Hi keeptrying
That’s very hard to bear & too soon to be coming out the other side just yet. Give yourself time. Many on this site are trying to cope with loss & severe illness, their own & others close to them. We’ve all walked those paths but here you don’t have to do that alone.

If you can have medical support to reference your desires & goals re this BSD, grab it with both hands. So many of us are/have been fighting for that.

We have to come first now because the decision, effort & change we want is monumental.

Hi Chocolate_ee
Loved your post..glad you survived your breakfast!! I don’t know if it’s any help but I have Rose Elliot’s Low Carb Vegetarian Diet book which has a pretty comprehensive list at the back of permissible foods and their carb and protein contents. The measures are in grams or ounces and are pretty easy to work out. I have 18 almonds every day ( don’t ask!!) and they are 2grms of carbs. There’s a lot of useful info on low carbing which goes along very handily beside the fantastic BSD book.
Good luck with this brilliant eating plan..you’ll soon be enjoying the huge benefits that it brings

4 choc mini rolls, eh? I scoffed a whole box of Dairy Box chocs on Sunday (plumbed new depths for me). Well, the evidence has been eaten – once it’s gone, it’s gone & it’s not in the house anymore. Yesterday & today I’ve been back on track.

Time to pretend you are Gone With the Wind’s Scarlett O’Hara: After all, tomorrow is another day.

I’ve been told that I “internalize” – so it’s good to have something like this forum just to get things off your chest. There are plenty of people reading these message threads so I’m sure others will be able to chip in with advice & encouragement. I sincerely hope you find a way to deal with your problems.

Hi Jani123
You’re very welcome! I know that I always like to consider a product that someone has at least tried,tested and liked rather than stick a pin in and hope!! The Code Free kit comes with 10 test strips and 10 lancets..handy to start you off but you will obviously need a lot more. I think you can get a “package” deal on Amazon that gives you the kit plus extra lancets and strips. When you reorder them without the kit it pays to buy the two packs of each..really good saving. Yes..you’re right ..each test needs a lancet and strip and you are NOT ignorant..none of us have a clue when starting out on these things. I know I didn’t! I was just lucky to find a good product to begin with. If you have any other queries and questions then there are loads of friendly,knowledgeable and helpful folk on this forum who are more than happy to share. I’ve learnt loads just reading through the threads before jumping in and joining in. Good luck with everything !

Hello again all. I have been reading bits and pieces still but not able to post recently as home and work life has been particularly busy. Just logging in quickly to say I haven’t forgotten you and hope to be back once daughter’s exams are started properly and hopefully her stress levels are lower.
The very best wishes to you all – that stepping and stair climbing is admirable!